


A Close Call

by snowandlilacs



Category: RWBY
Genre: Blood and Injury, F/M, Mild Blood, Near Death Experiences
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 13:03:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,082
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19151572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowandlilacs/pseuds/snowandlilacs
Summary: Winter is injured on a mission and Qrow helps get her back to Atlas and to James.





	A Close Call

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up too long to put into the drabbles collection and kind of follows the second and third drabbles from it, but it is not necessary to read those to read this.

The solider shifted a bit uncomfortably at the office door before being permitted to enter. It wasn’t technically _good_ news that they were bringing, and knowing that, it wasn’t likely to improve the General’s mood. He had seemed rather stressed lately, and many could take a guess as to why.

Once cleared to enter, they straightened up and opened the door. General Ironwood was staring out at Atlas rather than sat at his desk. They supposed it was boring to sit and do nothing else when not needed elsewhere. Not that it was something they needed to worry about. Certain news needed to be addressed.

“Sir, we have received a message.”

General Ironwood turned and looked at them but said nothing. At least they had his attention.

“Well, you see...it was from Qrow Branwen.”

They expected the exasperated sigh—it was no secret that Mr. Branwen often caused a commotion or other trouble when he was around—but the roll of his eyes was a bit of a surprise. Apparently his composure was not completely in check. Maybe he needed rest, but it was not their place to bring up such concerns.

“Unless it is important, Qrow can wait.”

“Um, sir, I apologize, but the message was ‘I found your specialist. Send a medic.’”

  


* * *

  


“Come on, Ice Queen, you gotta work with me here.”

Winter grumbled at the other, only to hiss as he tried pulling her back upright. She insisted on walking, and at first she managed fine with some help, but now she was struggling. Her limbs weren’t quite responding to her, her legs buckling after a few steps. 

It seemed he gave up trying since she realized that now she was sitting in the snow. When had she gotten there?

“Ah shit.”

She wanted to comment on his foul language, but she was distracted by the pain at her side that he wasn’t helping as he poked and prodded. Winter weakly swatted at his hands, not wanting to deal with whatever he was doing that was making the pain worse.

“Looks like the bandages didn’t hold.” He fussed about the injury site for a bit, even while she was trying to shoo him away. “Actually, they’re soaked through, and you’re still bleeding. And stop smacking my hands away! I’m trying to help you! We don’t know if or when those clowns in the military will get my message, so just listen to me.”

“It hurts.”

“Yeah, I got that, but you need to deal with it. You’re bleeding out.”

Winter narrowed her eyes at him, taking a moment to try and process what he was saying. She didn’t fully catch it, but she also didn’t entirely care. She was tired, in pain, and he was nagging her about something. All she wanted to do was sleep.

“No. Eyes here and open, Ice Queen.”

He shook her a bit and she scowled at him for it. 

“Stop that.” 

“If you stay awake, I’ll stop. The trick is actually staying awake. Can you do that?”

Was this some sort of challenge he was presenting? Stay awake? Honestly, she did not want to. She just wanted to ignore the pain and sleep through it, but her pride reared its head and like hell was she going to fail at something he was challenging her to do.

“Fine. I’ll stay awake.” She wouldn’t be happy about it, though.

“Right.” It sounded like he didn’t believe her. “So how about this, you let me try figuring out a solution to this so you don’t keep bleeding out, and you talk about something.”

“...talk about what?”

“Anything. Just talk. It will keep you busy.”

Winter huffed and sat there for a moment. She doubted anything would be interesting enough for conversation, but that clearly wasn’t the point. He probably wouldn’t even listen to her. It was a task to try to keep her busy and focused, she recognized that much, but her thoughts drifted.

“Where’s my scroll?” she asked while trying to push him away.

“Huh? Stop that, I’ve got to—”

She stopped paying attention to him and tried moving to find her scroll. However, she found a frustrating interference constantly blocking her.

“Would you let me...just find my scroll?”

A coughing fit left her wincing in pain, curling up a bit as if to shield her injuries. Not that it did anything to help the situation.

“No, you need to sit still. Here, just use mine. Who are you trying to call anyway?”

Winter squinted at the scroll’s contact list after it was handed to her, not understanding how he had it set up with all the names, or rather what she was assuming were nicknames. It didn’t help that her eyes were having trouble focusing on the screen itself.

“Call James.”

There was a brief pause before she heard a bark of laughter.

“James? Jimmy? _General Ironwood?_ You’re calling him _James_?”

Winter groaned and tried glaring at him, but she didn’t have the energy to bother. If she didn’t survive this ordeal, it wouldn’t matter if he found out anyway.

“Shut up.”

“Fine. I’ll bother you about it later. But why do you want me to call him? Something specific you want told to him or…?”

For a moment she didn’t respond. She didn’t know what to say, exactly. What could she even tell James at this point? That she got in over her head? That he was right about how she shouldn’t have volunteered for the mission? That she was sorry? _Good bye?_

She was so very tired.

“Ice Queen? Hey, stay with me. You gotta stay awake.”

She blinked and felt her eyes struggling to open again as they also failed to focus. Winter heard Qrow, but his words weren’t quite connecting. The noise was there, but nothing registered as coherent to her.

“You wanted to call him, right? You can’t talk to him if you’re passed out, now keep your eyes open.”

Her tongue felt heavy and words wouldn’t form. Winter made no attempt to try again. All she wanted was some rest. 

“You have to stay awake, Winter. Come on. _Shit._ ”

  


* * *

  


For a moment James swore that his heart stopped at the sight of Winter being brought into the airship after they landed near the coordinates Qrow gave. She was limp and deathly pale while contrasting stain on her uniform was such a dark red that he knew the wound was deep. Medics rushed passed him to take her away from Qrow and immediately began doing what they could for her, but her lack of response to everything going on made worry eat at him.

Was she even alive to save?

He couldn’t dwell on that now, however, he had orders to give. The medics would do their jobs, and he had to hope that would be enough. 

Everything else moved as a blur. 

James went through the motions, as if on auto pilot, until he found himself back in his office and alone. Winter had been taken to the hospital, her condition unknown beyond that she was barely alive when they reached her. 

She lost so much blood.

Pressing his temples against the oncoming headache, James didn’t know what to do. He was supposed to refrain from treating any specialist different from any others. Granted, their relationship already broke those rules, but at work Winter was treated as any other was. No special treatment, no taking it easy on her. If anything, Winter insisted on taking on more than she had before, which was how this whole situation came about. 

And his thoughts were back to square one.

The loud banging knock at his door, however, was a distraction. 

He was about to demand to know who was interrupting his work—not that he was getting anything done—before Qrow decided to enter without permission.

“What are _you_ doing here?” James intended his tone to sound more demanding than the exhausted way it came out, but given the circumstances, he supposed it was unavoidable.

“This is the thanks I get for bringing back your favorite specialist?” 

Qrow started to aimlessly wander the office, as if looking for something to misplace in his path. It was annoying, and the temptation to throw the other out the window for trespassing was great, but James knew it would be pointless.

“So...you and Winter, huh?”

_“Excuse me?”_

James watched as Qrow huffed and gave him a look. Apparently convincing him would not be as simple as calling the idea ludicrous. 

“You and the Ice Queen, Jimmy. Not that hard to figure out between her saying, and I quote, ‘call James’ when she wanted to find her damn scroll rather than let me patch her up and the look you had on your face when you first saw the state she was in. That and it seems you two aren’t quite as secretive as you hope to be. Half of your staff suspects that you’re together and that’s why you’re holed up here in your office right now. Not everyone is as quiet about their gossip as they think they are.”

He didn’t know what to say to that. He could try to deny everything, say that he was just concerned at seeing one of his best at death’s door, but James didn’t think he had the mental energy to jump through those hoops and convince someone as stubborn as Qrow.

“If you’re here to try and lecture me—”

Qrow put his hands up and had an infuriating smirk cross his face.

“I’m not here to lecture. Well, not about _that_ as long as it isn’t something for job security or that she was pressured into because you’re her _boss_.”

Not there to lecture, but certainly there to pass judgment on his character. James didn’t take too kindly to the insinuation of the comment.

“Winter is under no obligation to be in this relationship.”

“Good. Now that, that’s out of the way, why are you here and not waiting for her to wake up at the hospital?”

Was Qrow really asking that? The answer should be obvious. It wasn’t as though they could be open about any involvement. Qrow’s own line of questioning about the nature of their relationship should have been obvious enough to assume others would think the same.

“Because we have appearances to maintain. Even if people are gossiping about the potential relationship between Winter and I, there are consequences to confirming those rumors. We have to keep up professionalism. I cannot just neglect my duties to see if….”

There was a long uncomfortable pause after he trailed off.

“If she makes it?”

He had the tact of a bull in a china shop.

“Qrow—” 

“What? I’m not wrong. How much are you going to hate yourself if she dies and you’re sitting here in your office while she’s alone at the hospital? Don’t put on the roles of General and Specialist right now. You’re together, aren’t you? Your significant other could be _dying_. I saw the wound after it bled through everything I did to patch her up. She lost a lot of blood. I’m surprised she even pulled through long enough for your medics to get there.”

James watched as Qrow scoffed and took a long drink from his flask. He wanted to argue that it wasn’t that easy. He couldn’t just drop everything to stand by her side when they had so much to lose, but at the same time he knew Qrow was right. If Winter died while he sat there in his office, he would regret his choice for the rest of his life. 

It still didn’t make the situation easy.

“Winter would agree that discretion is best.”

“I don’t know how you two even make your relationship work if you’re both like this. Besides she’s not here to make that call anyway.”

He glared at Qrow. James didn’t appreciate the other’s comments. He and Winter came to the conclusion that everything was better off if they kept quiet. Their careers were at risk if they were public about being together. Why was that so hard for Qrow to understand?

“You’re really just going to sit here and worry instead of check on her, aren’t you?”

James remained silent for a moment longer than it seemed Qrow was willing to wait for an answer with his annoyed grumbling before storming out of the office. Logic made James stay in his office, frustrated with himself as his heart wanted him to act.

  


* * *

  


Winter vaguely remembered someone pressing on her side and trying to push them away, but the details of when, where, or even who it was were lost on her. She just remembered pain. Everything else was a haze of muddled memories.

What she did know in that moment, however, was that she was cold.

Shifting around, she tried finding something to pull herself up with as her hands shook and vision swam. The first and only concern she had at the moment was getting up.

“You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“I’m...fine….”

Dizziness took over and she rested her head back against the pillow. She figured whoever was talking was right. The voice sounded familiar, but her eyes fought to stay open. At the very least her visitor could make themselves useful.

“...it’s cold.”

She heard a laugh before she drifted off in a fitful state of slipping in and out of consciousness.

Sounds disturbed her when people talking registered just enough as noise but not enough to understand what was being said. Later a shrill sound was short lived as her consciousness failed her as quickly as it came, but the quiet murmuring that eventually registered was like a lull. She wanted to know what was being said; however, she couldn’t quite grasp it. 

The sound was soothing, and sleep claimed her again.

It wasn’t until pain finally registered to her conscious mind that Winter was able to pry her eyes open once more. The room was dim, but the quiet hum of machinery was enough to clue her in on the fact that she was in a hospital. Given how much pain she was in, she wasn’t surprised.

Winter wasn’t certain if she remembered right, but Qrow had been around at one point. He was nagging her about staying awake, but after that, nothing stood out.

She took a look around the room and noticed that she was alone, but something was draped over the chair. A coat? Whatever it was, it proved that someone had been there. Either they forgot it—unlikely given the weather in Atlas—or they planned on returning. Winter tried to stay awake long enough to figure out who was visiting, but a blink that lasted a moment too long had her hovering between sleep and wakefulness. 

A door opening and shutting with a click registered, but the smell of coffee was the tug to get her to pry her eyes open once more. It took a few seconds to focus on the other. James was staring out of the window, something she knew he did when he was busy with his thoughts. Winter didn’t want to disturb him, so she remained silent. Not that she had confidence that her voice would work at the moment. Her throat felt dry and exhaustion felt like bricks weighing her down. 

Despite everything it was still a relief to see him there.

She started to struggle to keep her eyes open again, but she wanted to fight off sleep. Winter assumed she had plenty of sleep to last her a while at this point.

“Winter?”

It took more effort than she would admit to blink and get her sight to focus on him again. Even so, her focus slipped a few times as he moved closer and took a seat in a chair near the bed. She felt as he took one of her hands in his but all she could manage was a weak attempt at closing her hand around his in return. Frustration bubbled up when Winter realized just how difficult it was for her to do anything. 

“Why...are you here?” Her throat was as dry as she expected, and her words croaked out in a way that she would have cringed at if she was able to muster up the energy. Though, she had noticed a flicker of something in his eyes when she asked. Hurt? Regret? She wasn’t certain what it was, but she was confused, nonetheless. “Shouldn’t you...be working?”

A weak laugh was the response she was given. 

“Probably, and I knew you would expect as much, but Qrow had a few things to say about that.”

Winter groaned in annoyance. So she was right. Qrow had been present at some point after she was injured, but she couldn’t quite recall all of the details. Then again, maybe not remembering was a blessing. He was bound to have annoyed her.

“While I would normally share your frustration at anything Qrow gets up to...he did make it possible for you to be recovered in time. He also spent some time keeping an eye on you until he decided that I should take over the role.”

Confused and tired, Winter was having a difficult time keeping up with what was said and processing it all. Apparently she owed Qrow a thanks at the very least, but why would he bother to watch her in the first place, let alone go fetch James to take over?

Her confusion wasn’t well hidden.

“You almost died.”

“I can feel that,” she grumbled in response. Winter was well aware that she was not doing great based on the amount of pain she was in. 

“No, after that,” James corrected. “Your heart was barely beating and nearly stopped after they thought you stabilized.”

_“...oh.”_

What was she supposed to say? Was she supposed to say anything? She didn’t have the energy to process all of this right now.

“Winter?”

She jolted slightly and hissed from the movement. James looked apologetic and Winter assumed she started dozing off while she was thinking before. Her hand was limp in his and she once again tried to squeeze her hand around his to show she heard.

There were bound to be consequences of him being there with her, but for the time being Winter would take comfort with him standing watch for as long as his time would allow.

**Author's Note:**

> I might do a sequel to this, but that all depends on my motivation. Possibly to get Qrow to be the pestering friend in this situation through the aftermath, but we'll see.


End file.
